Naples mom recalls terrifying moment during storm

A Naples mother and daughter were still shaken up after narrowly escaping being pushed over a bridge by severe wind and rain in Charlotte County.

Alison Buckham and 14-year-old daughter Sarah were driving home from Busch Gardens on Interstate 75 south around 10 o’clock Monday night.

Within a minute of getting out over the water on the Peace River Bridge near Charlotte Harbor, Buckham knew something was wrong, and then suddenly everything went dark.

“Got on the bridge and it became so heavy that we couldn’t see anything in front of us. I completely stopped the car. Our ears were popping. Even with my foot on the brake, the car started to move forward.”

Her concern quickly grew to fear.

“Terrified definitely, I didn’t know if someone was going to come up from behind us.”

Before she knew it, Buckham says the busy I-75 traffic that was just around her car was gone and she and her daughter were caught in a severe storm.

“I was trying to remain calm for my daughter, I told her, I think we’re in something. There’s no sense of knowing where the side was. My daughter said should I call 911? And I said yeah, just call them and let them know that something may be going on behind us.”

Suddenly, the bad weather subsided and the mom and daughter were able to get off the bridge.

“Super rattled when we got all the way off and got to the gas station.”

A 14-inch crack in her car windshield showed up after pulling off at the next exit. She says it serves as a reminder how close they came to disaster.

“It is a terrifying feeling to be not only on the road and not able to get to safety but sitting up on the top of the bridge.”

The National Weather Service recorded Monday night's tornadoes in Manasota Key and east of Punta Gorda at the same exact time Buckham and her daughter called 911.

We can’t know for sure if the weather Buckham was caught in was a part of those storms, but there’s no doubt the mom and daughter came across a terrifying moment.